Is it really calming that your anxiety needs? Read on…
Jennifer writes:
Something keeps coming up for me and it gives me a slight panic feeling whenever I think about it. I want to calm that anxiety.
Dear Jennifer:
Of course you’d like to be free of that anxiety! It’s such an unpleasant feeling.
But, as usual, it’s not quite as simple as just calming it.
It will get calm when it can feel your steady presence, being with it just as it is.
Step One: Notice there is a slight panic. Noticing — being aware — is the first step.
Step Two: Notice where and how you feel it in your body. Clenching in the stomach? Fluttering in the chest? Just notice.
Step Three: Say the words, “I am sensing something in me feeling a little panic.” (Use whatever words fit right now.)
Step Four: Inwardly say Hello to the one in you having the feeling. “Hello, I know you are there, and I am with you.”
Step Five: Take some time to sense if it can feel that you are there with it. This is a big deal… because panicked, anxious parts often feel alone. And it’s not alone. You are with it.
Step Six: Now listen. Let it tell you its worries. And each thing it says, kindly and gently let it know you hear it.
I predict the effect will be calming — not because you are trying to calm it, but because your presence is actually helping it feel calm.
